In a development that almost no-one saw coming, Japan is poised to become the fourth nation - after the U.S., Russia and China - to be in possession of a stealth fighter jet, unveiling the first-time creation to media at a Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. factory in central Japan on Thursday.
The Defense Ministry's Acquisition, Technology and Logistics Agency displayed the prototype, developed by a consortium of domestic companies led by Mitsubishi Heavy and titled the X-2 - formerly known as the ATD-X, at Nagoya Airport in Toyoyama, according to Gizmodo.
Japan's stealth-fighter will first undergo ground tests before making its maiden flight in mid-February before delivery to the defence ministry by the end of March next year, the acquisition agency said.
The X-2 measures 47 feet long and 29.8 feet wide. Featuring stealth capabilities, with the use of carbon fiber absorbing radio waves, it is intended to be the successor to the F-2 fighter jets developed jointly with the United States, AFP reported.
Japan reportedly spent $332 million to develop the aircraft, and if their efforts bear fruit, it will become the fourth internationally recognized nation to have successfully developed and flown manned stealth jets, joining the likes of the U.S., Russia and China.
Going forward with a due date of fiscal 2018, the agency will use the prototype's test data to determine whether to continue developing the aircraft domestically or engage in joint international development of aircraft and follow through with their intention on having the aircraft becoming the replacement of ASDF's F-2 fighter, according to The Japan Times.
The completion of the prototype is the second major achievement for Japan, whose aviation industry has stagnated since losing WWII. The first major achievement came in November, when the country's first domestically produced passenger jet, also developed by Mitsubishi Heavy, made its maiden test flight.
